


From Dust

by The_Goddess



Category: RWBY
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25725499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Goddess/pseuds/The_Goddess
Summary: When Nora reached the edge of the village and looked out to its citizens she silently cursed to herself seeing ears, tails, and other animal features. Of course she set up camp next to a faunus village, but she guessed she shouldn’t be too surprised considering most are. She didn’t see any humans so that meant they probably weren’t very tolerant towards them.Need to be extra careful today, she thought to herself as she slipped out of the tree line and behind a house.~ON HIATUS~(I accidentally deleted everything but I also need time to just work on this fic more)
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 17
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

Nora wakes up to the clang of metal on metal. Her eyes slowly open and it takes them a minute to adjust to the low orange lighting. With confusion and a throbbing head, Nora touches her temple only to flinch away from her own touch. She can smell the blood on her fingers before her eyes can see it. Nora tries to take a deep breath to calm her nerves but is prevented from doing so. Her hand slowly trails down to her neck to feel her new iron necklace with a long chain connecting to the top of her cage.

“Great...”

Earlier that morning Nora was going through the bottom of her storage freezer, the only things she had left were two bags of peas she was able to steal like... a year ago? Some blueberries she picked a while back, and some milk that had to be bad by now. Nora debated her options on what she should do for dinner. She could go out and look for herbs, berries, and vegetables that were growing around the woods and hunt for some deer.

Gods she hasn’t had any meat for about a month, but hunting was such a pain in the ass. First, you have to track the animal, manage to kill it, skin the animal, carve the meat you want, preserve the meat you can’t eat at the moment, and then cook the meat you want to eat… it was just a lot to deal with for one person. Or, she could go into the nearest town and break into a few houses and take what she needs. Considering it was already noon, and if she went out hunting and gathering she wouldn’t get back till dark, she decided to go with the latter.

She quickly zipped open her tent, grabbed her big burlap sack, swung it over her shoulder, zipped up her tent, locked up the storage freezer, and headed east where the forest ended and the village began.

When she reached the edge of the village and looked out to its citizens she silently cursed to herself seeing ears, tails, and other animal features. Of course she set up camp next to a faunus village, but she guessed she shouldn’t be too surprised considering most are. She didn’t see any humans so that meant they probably weren’t very tolerant towards them.

 _Need to be extra careful today_ , she thought to herself as she slipped out of the tree line and behind a house.

Her sack was two-thirds of the way full after breaking into her third house. The sun was starting to go down, but wasn’t quite sunset yet, so she figured it was her time to go. She was able to snag some prepackaged fruits and vegetables, half-drunk carton of milk, two loaves bread, three packages of cheese, four packages of meat, and an almost full egg carton. She did find some syrup as well, but the full bottle was empty as soon as her eyes hit the sugary goodness. A pretty big steal if she said so herself.

 _Heh... big steal_ , she chuckled to herself.

She tied her bag up and carefully placed it on her shoulder so she wouldn’t crush anything, especially the eggs. She was about to make her escape when she caught a glimpse of a white mask.

_Damnit!_

Trying to act as nonchalant as possible and leave the village without being noticed was a little difficult when you currently looked like the female red-headed version of Santa Clause. And not to mention looking human didn’t help anything either. However, before she knew it, she was able to see her savior, the forest’s edge was only a little ways off, but something didn’t feel right. She could feel her skin crawl like someone was trailing her. She stopped abruptly and listened carefully to her surroundings. She could hear three pairs of feet – one behind and one on each side of her—make a quick halt causing the leaves to shift beneath their feet.

 _This just had to happen when I found some decent food_. She took a deep breath and let out a small yell as she swung around her sack and threw it at the person behind her.

The woman was caught off guard and the sack hit her right in the gut knocking the air out of her. The other two White Fang members advanced, and she bolted towards the woods. She may have a chance of beating these guys there, where she knew the terrain, and hopefully was able to run back to camp and grab a weapon to make the fight a little more even.

Unfortunately, life has never been that kind to her.

Another member of their group was flying above her, unnoticed until he dropped right on top of her. The breath was completely knocked out of her as the faunus stood on her back. She coughed and gasped trying to fill her lungs once again, but before she was able to even try to escape, he slammed the bud of his weapon right into her temple.

_Right_ , Nora thinks to herself examining her new living quarters.

Nora can stretch out her arms and have a few inches between the tips of her fingers and the bars. If she stands up she doesn’t think her head will hit the top of her prison, although it would be really close. This is probably one of the few times she is thankful for her small stature.

Her cage might be small, but the room her cage is in is huge, though the only thing in here is about 40 cages like hers. She looks around and notices ten other people in cages, but they are on the other side.

The door in front of her begins to open and she covers her ears as the loud squeaking noise of the hinges aren’t helping her throbbing head. Six people walk through the door, four of which she remembers as the people who attacked her. However, they were no longer wearing their masks, unlike the other two.

One is a bat faunus, that one must have knocked her out, another is a spider faunus, and the other two she thinks are some type of fox faunus. The six of them look at her as if she is nothing more than an object for them to use however they feel, but she is getting a particularly nasty glare from the spider.

“She’s the one who knocked you out with a sack of food?” one of the masked faunus asks the spider.

_Ah that’s why_

Nora looks quizzically at him. He has to be the leader; he was the one who walked into the room first and everyone seems to be walking on eggshells around him. He has red hair with black streaks throughout it, but as she looks closer, two of those streaks look like horns.

 _Fuck_ , she realizes.

How did she not realize it was him earlier? She had only been hiding from him for the past 11 years! Does he recognize her? Maybe he doesn’t remember her.

She can feel his eyes scan her up and down as if he is analyzing her. It makes her skin crawl, but she doesn’t let it show, not wanting to give them an ounce of satisfaction.

“Yes sir, but the only reason she was able to incapacitate me is because I was not expecting the attack.” Spider girl answers.

Nora scoffs to herself and the spider scowls down at her in response and starts walking forward, but bat dude sticks out his wing preventing her from advancing any further.

“Why is she here?” The other masked man asks. Nora can’t quite pin this one down. He is probably the assistant or some type of bodyguard. He has long black hair with a single pink streak. He’s wearing a green tailcoat-type shirt with no sleeves, but from his middle finger to his biceps runs a gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves ending in metal armbands. He’s also wearing white pants with open-toed sandals that come up to his thigh. She can’t immediately tell what type of faunus he is since it must be one of those discreet ones like a chameleon or something. Or his animal features are just be hidden under one of his articles of clothing.

“Because Miss Trifa was standing 20 yards behind this girl.” The man that has fueled her hatred for years leans down and grabs the chain that is connected to her medal collar. He yanks it towards him throwing Nora into the bars.

“I want to see what else she can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Grammarly said my chapter was engaging so...
> 
> This is my first story posted on Ao3, woo! So sorry in advanced because I don't know what I am doing. I just really wanted to write a story for this ship because they are my favorite and deserve more love (Nora is also my favorite). Anyways I hope you all liked it and more chapters to come! :)


	2. Chapter 2

“Should we move her to the testing room?”

A jolt of fear courses through her body at those words. She may be detached from society, but you would have to be living on the moon to not know what the testing room is. The testing room makes you go through combat trials while under the most extreme conditions like little oxygen, complete darkness, a heat that will give you second-degree burns, and even more she can’t seem to recall or want to. Although, sometimes they just torture you, see how long your body can last before it finally gives out.

Not only that, but usually they make you go through this hell with another prisoner. When they first started these “trials” people thought that they were there for moral support, to help people live through the pain, but as more faunus headquarters started to implement testing rooms, word started to spread. The person there is your competition. Sometimes they kill the weaker one of the two, sometimes they make the two fight to the death, and sometimes the other person is a White Fang member in disguise trying to make you break or get information out of you.

No one ever knows what to expect. Nora tries to imagine which is worse. Going through all that pain alone or knowing that the person who has been there with you through it all will either betray you or die in the end, either by your hands or your captors.

Although technically this is all “legal” claiming this is to simply bring out the best of their future soldiers. After everything these people have been through, they all end up working for the white fang, faunus or not. Nora would hear whispers about sons and daughters disappearing after the white fang came to give them a visit. Those that would return wouldn’t stay long. Usually packing a small bag and moving to a city that needs more manpower or to the mines. There is talk of other activity going on but at this point, it is just speculation.

“Not yet. Nora is not just any visitor; I want to give her a chance to cooperate with us.”

“Go die.”

“Is that how you treat an old friend.”

Adam squats down so they are eye-level and removes his mask. The scar on his face with the initials SDC isn’t what startles her, it is the fact that he is letting her see his face. One of the head operatives of the White Fang is allowing her to see his face, which only means one of two things: they have no intention of letting her go or they will kill her.

She stares in horror as he just smiles at her. Even his associates seem surprised that he took off his mask.

“I’m not going to lie, I honestly thought you were dead, well everyone thought you were dead. But look at you, cowering in a cage like the deserter you are. Oh if… gods what was his name? It’s on the tip of my tongue. He was so sad when he thought that you had died. This is going to kill me. Ren, I believe you met him a couple of times, remind me of his na-”

“Doctor Merlot.” Nora cuts him off. “Adam.”

“Oh, so you do remember me.”

Nora starts yanking on the chains conjuring up all of her strength. She seethes at Adam as memories swarm her mind that she has spent years trying to forget. She remembers how a boy 10 years her senior, smiled down at her city as it crumbled.

Who cares about remaining calm? Who cares if it feels like her world is fragmenting again while she looks into the eyes of the man who ruined her life!?

She must look like she is about to bust out of the cage out of pure rage because Adam’s whole entourage pull out their weapons. Even Adam’s demeanor shifts slightly as his hand moves a couple of inches towards the handle of his weapon. Little did she know that a link on the chain connecting to her neck started to bend.

“You monster! You killed them! You killed them all!” Nora screams.

“Wow, you really don’t know anything do you?” Adam says, his poise switching once again to one of interest and amusement as she continues to struggle against her confinements. “Ren would you please escort Ms. Valkyrie here to one of our vacant rooms. If she continues to be stubborn, I give you permission to do whatever you deem necessary to move her.” Ren nods as Adam and the other 3 faunus turn to leave.

“Come back here!” Nora screams at the diminishing figure.

“If you do not calm down I will be forced to become hostile.” Ren says in a monotone, almost calming voice.

“Bite me.” Nora spits as she continues to thrash against her cage. She is too preoccupied that she didn’t even notice Ren pulling out a knife from his boot before she felt something hard and swift hit her in the back of the head knocking her out for the second time today.

_Rocks as big as boulders, dirt mountains high, and grimm Nora has never seen before was the only thing that filled her eyes as they appeared to be falling out of the sky. As she looked up, she also saw hundreds of people looking down on her, on her city. But one person stood out to her._

_He couldn’t have been older than 16, still a child, and he was smiling, even laughing at the destruction he was bearing witness to. He enjoyed this. He enjoyed watching as thousands of people were being slaughtered. The feeling she got from simply looking at him made her want to run away._

_“Doctor, what- what is happening?” She questioned but couldn’t look away from the destruction._

_“Adam, you have outdone yourself.” The doctor said._

_That caught her attention._

_“Adam?” Nora asked, but before she could get an answer rocks started to rain down on the building they were in and grimm were starting to spread throughout the city._

_As she looked back up to the spectators enjoying the show, that boy was looking directly at her. At her and the Doctor. The doctor also seemed to notice. He turned around, grabbed Nora’s arm, and started to pull her towards the emergency exit._

_“You have to leave right now.” He said not leaving this up for debate. “Once you get out of this building I need you to run. Try to get to high ground and escape. You can climb, you’re shifty, and you are fast. If anyone can get out of this tomb, it’s you, Nora.”_

_“And what about you!? You’re coming with me, right?”_

_“I can’t. I have some business I need to take care of first.” He said looking up towards that boy again. When Nora followed his gaze, she could tell that he, and a few other men, were making their way down to the city._

_“No!” Nora screamed, “You have to come with me! If we leave now we can escape!” She grabbed his arm and started pulling with all of her might._

_“I’m so sorry my sweet child, but I can’t.” And with that, he shoved Nora into the escape stairwell, shut the door, and held it there. She wailed and banged on the door with tears flowing down her face. All she could hear on the other side was the doctor repeating “Run. Please.” Like a protection spell._

_Finally, with no other options, she conceded and started to head down the winding staircase with blurry vision to guide her. When she finally reached the exit, what greeted her were thousands of screams, soot falling like snow, and monsters lurking around every corner, but she did what the doctor told her, and ran._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/queen-nora) if anyone wants it!


	3. Chapter 3

Nora once again wakes up in an unfamiliar environment. 

_I’m getting real tired of this_ , she thinks to herself. 

She is laying in a bed and when she moves, she hears the familiar sound of chains rattling together. Pulling her arms out from under the covers she sees that her wrists are handcuffed with long thick chains connecting to the wall behind her. She gives it a quick tug and sure enough the bolts in the wall don’t even budge.

She sighs and gets out of bed walking around her new quarters. The only real upgrade from her previous cage is that she has cinderblock walls, a bed, a sink, a window, and a toilet. However, privacy is still something foreign to her as the wall opposite of the window is made out of bars and anyone in the hallway can look into her room. And currently, that anyone is the man who kindly knocked her out to escort her to her room.

“Knocking me out was unnecessary.” Nora speaks up feeling awkward that her new prison guard is just watching her.

Clearly not expecting a conversation, the man just stands there for a moment, unsure what to say. Nora sighs again and turns back around but slightly jumps when she hears him finally say something.

“You were being adversarial.”

Nora turns back around and gives him a deadpanned look.

“Me? You guys were the one who shoved me in a cage! Anyone would act ‘adversarial’ in that situation.” 

To that, he says nothing. Nora doesn’t want to stop talking though. She doesn’t trust him, or anyone in this facility for that matter, but she hasn’t been able to have a conversation with anybody in a really long time. 

“What was your name again? Ren? I think that’s what Adam said. Then again, I’ve been hit in the head a lot today.” 

Ren looks away at that statement, almost guiltily. 

“What type of faunus are you anyways?” Nora asks.

“People don’t usually ask that so straightforwardly.”

“People don’t usually get imprisoned by the White Fang.” 

Ren once again says nothing in response.

“You don’t have any outward physical characters to give it away, well at least that I can see. A chameleon? You could have gills underneath your shirt. Maybe some small horns in your hair? Is that why you have that pink streak?”

“Playing twenty-questions I see.” Adam says turning around the corner. 

Ren stands up a little straighter and Nora shuts up immediately. Adam smirks and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small key. 

“If you can guess what type of faunus he is, I’ll unlock one of your cuffs.”

Nora doesn’t actually think that he will do such a thing, but it is worth a shot. What is the worst that can happen? Besides, it seems that even if she gets it wrong, she will be told the right answer, and that is much more interesting to her. She sizes Ren up one more time taking in his regal posture. 

“A dragon.” She decides.

Adam bursts into laughter and Ren just looks at her. She stares at the two unimpressed. She knows there is no such thing, but that is the demeanor he gives off to her. 

“If only that existed, but no, wrong on all accounts I’m afraid.” Adam says as he takes the key he is holding and unlocks her cell. Nora slowly backs into a corner of her room as Adam enters. Ren also takes a few steps in, but he stays close to the entrance while Adam continues to advance towards her. 

“Ren is not a faunus. He is as human as you are.”

Nora stares at him in disbelief. She shifts her gaze towards Ren, but he makes no move to deny the claims. Humans in the White Fang are not uncommon, but they are foot soldiers and miners. She has never heard of a human being among the high ranks of the White Fang. 

“Wha-”

“We were going through towns when we found a small village overrun with Grimm. By the time we got there, most of the citizens were either dead or fled. The only survivor we found was little Ren here under a bridge.” He pauses to look back at Ren. “I decided to show compassion and let him join us. Isn’t that right Ren?” Adam asks with a cruel smile on his face.

“Yes.”

Nora just continues to stare at Ren with confusion radiating off of her. Everyone knows the White Fang tactics for getting people to join their side. One of them is to “save” the survivors of small destroyed villages that the White Fang just happen to show up to after a Grimm attack. Even so, why is he so high up? Why is he, from what she has observed, the right-hand man to Adam, one of the highest ranked officers in the White Fang? 

While thoughts are swarming her head, Adam grabs her chin and forces her to look at him pushing her against the wall. Her skin scratches against the rough surface and she can feel the cobble stone slowly cut into her skin. 

“Now, let’s talk about you. After all of that information I just gave you, this is this is the least you could do.”

Nora glares at him, trying to convey how much she wishes for his death with a single look. But she has to wonder, what does he even want from her? She has been a scavenger, a no one for her whole life. He did taunt her about Dr. Merlot yesterday, but he died years ago, there is nothing he can get out of her that he doesn’t already know. 

“What is your semblance?” 

Well, except for that.

“What?”

“It’s a simple question.” 

“Why would- why do you need to know that?”

“Testing a theory.”

Nora’s eyebrows scrunch up, unsure what to do. Yes, it is a simple question, and most people don’t hide what their semblance is, but if Adam is asking then she has a feeling she shouldn’t give him an inch no matter what. 

She continues to just stand there in contemplation when she feels a hand wrap around her throat and slowly squeeze tighter. 

“Answer me girl.” Adam growls into her ear.

Nora doesn’t want to answer him, but she genuinely thinks he will kill her if she doesn’t. She isn’t a high priority target or someone they can ransom, she has no one. 

“St- Strength.” She manages to get out.

Adam squeezes her neck tighter and then throws her to the ground. She rubs small circles on her no doubt bruised neck and starts coughing trying fill her lungs with oxygen. However, as soon as she feels a second of relief Adam swings his leg out and slams it into her stomach. Good thing she hasn’t eaten anything in probably two days or else she is sure she would have thrown it up. She still gags and coughs from the impact though, unable to catch her breath. 

“You shouldn’t have lied to me Nora.” 

Nora glares up at him as she tries to slow her breathing down.

“I am not lying.” She whispers at him. 

Adam squats down and grabs Nora by the hair and yanks her head towards him. No words are exchanged between the two, all he does is glare at her and she returns the favor. He eventually lets her go and walks towards Ren.

“Take her to the testing room tomorrow morning.”

“Sir?”

Adam turns to look at Nora on the floor. “We will get the truth out of her one way or another. If she is lying, we will make her show us what her semblance is, and if she isn’t, then she isn’t as special as I thought she was.” 

Adam turns to leave her cell, but she can’t let him win like this, her pride won’t allow it. So, she says something stupid, as usual.

“Wait, Adam.” 

He slows to a stop and turns to looks down at her with a pensive look. 

“How’s Blake?” She says with a smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

Nora receives another kick to the stomach. This time though, she sees black spots floating around her room that definitely were not there before. She tries to breathe, but it feels like someone is holding a bag over her head and she can’t take full breaths, so she does whatever she can do. She hyperventilates. What temporarily brings her out of her panic is ironically Adam pressing his foot down on Nora’s back. She tries not to think of the constant pressure on her already bruised body and lungs, but instead on the cooling stone floor. Her little oasis is short-lived though when Adam leans down and picks up her left arm lifting it perpendicular to her body.

“Just because I’m not allowed to break you, does not mean I’m not allowed to damage you.” He whispers in her ear. 

Before she can even say, or even think about saying anything, she hears a loud pop sound. The pain set in a second later. It feels as if fire itself is raging through her blood and her shoulder is the supplier. She tries to bite her tongue, but a scream still escapes her mouth. 

Nora has dealt with a few dislocated shoulders in her life, but this pain is different. Not only is it already difficult to breathe, but he just keeps _pulling_ on her arm. She tries to wiggle her wrist out of his clutches, but it feels like she is pulling on a puppet string instead of operating her limb. Adam tightens his grip anyways and her escape plan is ruined. 

“You will know your place.”

“Sir.” She hears Ren speak up but gets no response.

“Adam.” He says slightly sterner. Adam finally turns his head acknowledging Ren’s existence, but his grip and pressure on Nora’s back do not let up.

“She won’t be able to participate tomorrow if she can’t use her arm.” 

“Just tie her up and torture her for a few hours, she doesn’t need her arm for that.”

“In order to pull out her semblance, we must put her in different situations. We can’t just torture her.”

“Is torture a situation?”

“… Yes sir.” 

“Then do that one tomorrow.” 

Despite knowing what her fate is tomorrow, she can’t help but sigh in relief when Adam let’s go of her arm and takes his foot off her back. She clutches her arm to her chest and protectively curls in around herself. 

“Re-locate her shoulder then come to my office.” 

Ren only nods in response but Adam seems to be content with that answer because he leaves and shuts the cell door behind him. Ren walks over to Nora and gets on his knees to look at her. 

“Don’t touch me.” She grunts out.

“The faster I relocate your shoulder the faster it will heal.”

“I don’t think that matters if I am getting tortured tomorrow.” 

Ren doesn’t say anything because he knows it’s the truth. All he does is look her in the eyes with his lips ever so slightly turned downwards. 

“Please.” He says.

Nora knows how to relocate her shoulder. Several years ago, she was traveling through Vacuo when an Ursai was suddenly charging her. She threw her backpack at it to gain some distance and so the weight of it won’t slow her down in her getaway. Which, in retrospect, was probably the stupidest thing she could have done because it had all of her food, water, and shelter in it. She somehow managed to get away when she spotted this huge boulder twice her size right by a cliff. If she wasn’t so panicked, she probably would have found the scenery almost peaceful. 

She squatted by the boulder taking refuge for the time being. She did a quick assessment and quickly discovered the only weapon she had on her was a hunting knife. She felt her pulse speed up a bit as her thoughts started to scramble. What broke her out of this state was the sound of the Ursai growling. She couldn’t even turn to look at it before it slammed into her. Having half your body hit by a Grimm and the other half by a boulder wasn’t the nicest feeling in the world. Nora fell to the ground with a cry as the Ursai rounded on her. Her shoulder was most definitely dislocated. The only reason this was her main concern was that she couldn’t move her dominant arm and the Ursai was about to charge her again. 

She pulled out her knife with her left hand and did her best to get into a fighting position. She has practiced fighting with both hands before, but not nearly enough. It’s not like she had a sparring partner to safely hone her skills with.

She was really fucked this time. She had no idea what to do. A 400-pound monster with literal glowing, red, hungry eyes was staring her down and all she had was one knife, one arm that worked, and an aching body. The more scared she became the more excited the Grimm was. It charged at her at full speed. It was almost like it was high from all of the fear, anxiety, and terror radiating off of Nora’s body. Thanks to that though, it wasn’t able to turn when Nora dodged the attack. She quickly plunged the knife in the Ursai’s eye and in its distress, fell off the cliff.

Nora slumped over as she watched the Grimm dissipate to ash in its fall. All she could do was let out a scream as tears fell down her face. She killed the monster but what now? She lost her pack who knows where, was completely turned around, and was injured. Well, she could at least get her arm functioning again. She looked at the boulder, took a deep breath, and slammed her shoulder into it. She couldn’t help letting out a scream when she heard a clicking pop noise. She thought about covering her mouth to not alert other Grimm, or any other types of wanderers, to her location, but at this point, anything in the area already knew where she was. 

Her vision started to blur when she was trying to decide what to do next. She thought she heard footsteps approaching, but everything soon went black. 

She never did find out who helped her back then. All she knows is that when she woke up again, it was in a room instead of the woods and her wounds were patched up and there was some food on a tray. She left immediately though and somehow was able to get out without running into anyone. 

Nora looks back up to Ren and sighs. She doesn’t want to accept his help. She doesn’t know him; doesn’t understand why he is working with the White Fang. Doesn’t understand why he is working with Adam. However, he is the only one here, at this very moment, who can help her. And right now, she is too tired to relocate her shoulder herself, and she does not want to go through tomorrow, or even go to sleep, with a dislocated shoulder. 

“Fine.” Nora finally submits. 

Ren instructs her to lie down on her back and to keep her arms at her sides. She does so but has to keep herself from pulling away when Ren grabs her wrist. 

“How do you know about Blake?” Ren asks. Nora raises her head so she can give Ren a confused look. Out of all the questions to ask, why ask about Blake? Why not ask how she knows Adam? Why she hates him? Why he is after her? Well, that one she is also trying to answer. 

“I’m trying to distract you. I didn’t think asking about Adam would help.” 

Nora slightly chuckles at that. “I didn’t really know who Blake was, or how close she was with Adam until years later. When I was a kid, she was just a girl who would come over to the Doctor’s office every once in a while. The group she was with always had a meeting with the Doctor, but she couldn’t attend them, and she was around my age, so Doctor Merlot told us to play together.”

“How old were you?”

“Mmmm…. 6, 7 maybe. I would give her a tour around the town and take her to my favorite hiding spots. We would play games and play pranks; she was my friend.”

Ren starts to move her arm and she scrunches her eyes shut in pain.

“How did you find out?” Ren asks trying to keep her focused on other things.

“Rumors. I heard how when Blake left the White Fang Adam lost it.” She says through gritted teeth, “People were questioning the nature of their relationship. People love to talk when they think no one is listening.”

“How’d you react when you found out?” 

“Angry. I thought she was responsible for the destruction of my town for a while.” Ren froze for a minute but continues with his movements. “But the more I listened, it sounded more like she was manipulated as much as the doctor wa-” There is a loud pop and Nora clamps her jaw shut while a scream rumbles in her throat trying to escape. 

Once the pain subsides Nora sits up and tries to move her arm.

“I wouldn’t move it around too much. I would recommend putting it in a sling but…”

“It won’t matter tomorrow.”

Ren looks down unable to look her in the eyes. Nora starts to stand up and Ren offers her a hand, but she refuses to take it. She grabs her side, ribs definitely broken, and makes her way to the bed. Ren also turns to leave but he suddenly stops and looks back at her.

“Don’t tell anyone what you told me today. Don’t tell them anything.” And with that, he leaves her cell. 

Nora listens until she can’t hear his footsteps anymore. She grabs her musty blanket and pulls it over her body as she curls up around her pillow. Ren clearly doesn’t give her enough credit. She never did mention that she knows where Blake is.


	5. Chapter 5

Ren shuts the door to Nora’s cell and makes his way to Adam’s office. He has no idea what to expect, this whole situation has been strange since the moment Nora turned up. He soon arrives at the wooden double doors with the White Fang logo carved into them. He knocks and with a “come in” he opens the doors and enters Adam’s office. He is sitting at his desk, with a scowl on his face, probably disappointed that his thrown is hundreds of miles away.

“What took you so long?”

“She wouldn’t let me relocate her shoulder.”

“Then why didn’t you just leave?”

Ren stands there, unable to answer the question. Or rather, he did have an answer but for one, he knew Adam wouldn’t be happy with it, and two, he didn’t know why this was his answer. He just, couldn’t leave her like that. Crumpled on the floor in pain, it just, he couldn’t do it. 

Adam sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Whatever, you’re going to be spending a lot more time with her anyways.” 

“Sir, I am supposed to leave in two days.”

“Change of plans, you are now going to guard that girl’s cell till we get what we want.” 

Ren isn’t upset that he wouldn’t be leaving for his other mission in two days, far from it actually, but this has never happened. He has always been in the background protecting high personnel of the White Fang, Ren has never been a guard to a prisoner. Once again, not upset, he surprisingly liked the spunk the small red-headed girl brought with her, but that might make his job worse. He may be a part of the White Fang, but he realized years ago, far too late, that he would never be able to escape. Therefore, he may do his job, but he doesn’t give a shit whether the people he protects lives or dies. 

He tries to look as calm as possible, but he can feel his eyebrows scrunch together in confusion with a hint of anger.

“I don’t understand sir. Why is she more valuable than those generals I was supposed to protect? And-And why me!? What can I do that any one of your loyal foot soldiers can’t do?” He asks while his voice steadily rose in anger. Why is he angry?

“Why she is important to me is not something someone of your rank needs to know.” Adam says with an air of dominance that Ren knows if he questions again, he will be punished, “And we both know you hate those pompous fuckers, so why do you care if you are transferred?”

“Because I don’t want to watch her die!” _oh._

“If she is who I think she is, you won’t have to,” Adam places his hands on his desk and slowly stands up. He glares Ren down with what he swears are glowing eyes, “but if she isn’t, are we going to have a problem?”

“Well, we’ll find out, won’t we sir.” 

The two just stare at each other, neither of them backing down. In public, he may be a loyal soldier, but he has learned to speak up if the time calls for it. He is not untouchable, he is well aware of that, but they won’t get rid of him with a few insubordinate comments every once in a while. 

Adam sits back down, but the room is still tense, “You officially start tomorrow, pick her up when her session is done.” He says with no room for arguments.

Ren immediately leaves his office and sets off to his room. He hates this. Hates everything about this situation, but he can’t _do_ anything. What the hell does he even want from Nora? Why is figuring out her semblance so important? 

He hates that he has so many questions. 

He hates that he cares this time around. 

Ren didn’t get much sleep last night and has been staring at his scroll all day just waiting. When he finally got the notification to get Nora, Ren is already out the door.

Despite how resilient Nora seems, she has spent the entire day in the testing room and went through one of the most difficult trials. He has never personally experienced said trials, but he is not completely oblivious, and he has interacted with a few members who have gone through it. They talked about how the torture was grueling and relentless, but that the aftermath was the worst part. No one to help heal their wounds, wondering when they would be called back in, and how basic tasks, like walking to the toilet, became extremely difficult. 

Still, knowing all of this, when Ren opens the door and sees Nora in the state she’s in, his blood runs cold. Her arms and legs are strapped down to a metal chair, eyes shut, and body unmoving. It almost looks like someone dipped their hand in red and purple paint and just splattered it all across her body. Her clothes were all but cut away barely covering her frame anymore, being held together by a couple of threads. He runs over to her and checks her pulse because for a split second he thought they killed her. 

All the while, there is a man in the middle of the room standing next to a small metal table wiping down tools that are covered in Nora’s blood. 

“What did you do to her!?” Ren demands from the large man.

“What I was told to do.” The man says eyeing Ren. “She’s still alive, just unconscious. She did last a whole lot longer than we all thought though.” 

“All of this for her semblance?” Ren whispers to himself as he moves a piece of hair out of her face. He almost wishes he hadn’t though because what greets him is a swollen shut black eye that is sealed shut with dried blood. 

Ren moves to unlock her cuffs and wraps one arm under her legs and the other around her back and lifts her out of the chair. He quickly leaves the room and makes his way back to her cell. The walk feels like it is miles long, and with every breath, he hears wheeze out of Nora, he fears it is her last. 

Finally, Ren makes it to Nora’s cell and gently places her on the bed. He doesn’t even bother putting on her restraints, doesn’t even want to look at them because it reminds him of the ones on that chair. 

He is able to find a washcloth by the sink and wets it. He returns to her and is left unsure of where to start wiping off the blood. She is covered in cuts and bruises, he can’t even tell what blood belongs to which cut, it all just puddles together. In the end, he decides to start with her face. He first wipes down the swollen eye so when she wakes, she is at least able to open it. Her lip is also busted, and her cheek bruised and cut. When he finally finishes his eyes roam down to the rest of her body. He needs to get some sort of gauze before he even begins wiping down the rest of her gashes. Right now, the blood flow has stopped thanks to the dried blood caking the wounds. He doesn’t want to risk opening them back up and have her lose even more blood.

He is about to leave to find said medical supplies when he hears a groan come from Nora. He kneels down by the bed and hovers his hands over her body not sure what to do as she slowly regains consciousness. 

Her breathing picks up and one eye flies open while the other one only opens up a sliver. She looks around frantically when she spots Ren. She tries to curl her legs in but lets out a small cry from the movement.

“Try- try not to move too much. You’re really,” Ren pauses, “really hurt and have lost a lot of blood.”

Ren can hear her congested breath continue to speed up as she tries to look down at her body. However, her eyebrows scrunch up and she raises her hand to her left eye. With the slightest touch, she whines out in pain and drops her arm. 

“Your eye is fine, it is just swollen shut,” Ren says hoping that would help ease her nerves. Probably not. 

Tears begin to fall from Nora’s eyes and Ren is once again left squirming. He has no idea how to help or comfort her.

“Nora I-” to his surprise, he gets cut off.

“Get,” Nora rasps out, her voice rough and gravely. Ren assumes this is probably a result of her screaming; however, he realizes his theory is wrong as soon as his eyes drift down to her neck and see deep, purple, swollen abrasions across her neck in the forms of fingers. “out.”

Ren doesn’t know what to say or do. He wants to stay, doesn’t feel right leaving her alone, but he really doesn’t want to leave because he knows he needs to start cleaning her wounds. 

“Nora I-”

“Leave!” She says with as much force as possible, which isn’t a lot.

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave you alone, I promise,” Ren says as calmly as possible, “but Nora, I have to clean your wounds. The sooner the better.”

Nora just stares at the ceiling while tears fall down her face.

“I’m leaving, but I will be back in an hour with supplies.”

Nora says nothing. 

Ren stands up, and with one last look, he leaves her cell. He walks out of the prison area wanting to give Nora some true privacy and needing to hunt down some basic medical supplies. He slows to a stop though in some random hallway and clenches his hands into fists. Nora doesn’t deserve this. He has only spoken to her a few times but dammit she is _good_ and _strong._ She was able to stand up to Adam after he had his hands around her neck for gods sake!

“Dammit!” he yells and punches the nearest wall. He hisses from the self-inflicted pain and clutches his now bruised knuckles to his chest. 

He refuses to watch her die. He won’t allow let that happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so late, school has been kicking my ass. Updates will probably take a while but I promise they will come. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


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